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The Yankees opened their series with the Brewers on a low-note, getting shutout by Jacob Misiorowski for six innings while Max Fried dropped his worst start of the season on the other side. Unfortunately, Spencer Jones’ MLB debut was overshadowed by the team at large struggling on Friday, collecting just three hits on the night. New York’s misfortune is the rest of the league’s opportunity though, so let’s see how the field fared.

Boston Red Sox (17-22) 2, Tampa Bay Rays (25-13) 0

The Rays were set up to capitalize and claim first place in the division back, but the Red Sox had other ideas. Connelly Early tossed seven innings without allowing a run, striking out eight batters and walking one with just four hits on the day. The Rays did get one chance in the third inning to strike, loading the bases with no outs on a pair of singles and a walk. Early got Ryan Vilade to strike out for the first out, and induced a 5-4-3 double play out of Junior Caminero to escape the jam.

Wilyer Abreu made the missed opportunity sting even more in the bottom half, hitting a solo home run to right field to put Boston on the board. Ceddanne Rafaela followed suit in the fourth, hitting one out to left to make it 2-0. No other Boston batter made it past second base, but they hardly needed to with Early dealing. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman combined to make the eighth and ninth innings seamless, securing the win.

Toronto Blue Jays (17-21) 2, Los Angeles Angels (15-24) 0

The Jays got an ace performance of their own on Friday, riding Dylan Cease to seven scoreless as well. Cease one-upped Early, striking out 10 with no walks, though he did allow one more hit. The same couldn’t be said for Reid Detmers, who lasted only 3.2 innings for the Angels and coughed up the lead in the third. A leadoff single and a one-out walk came to bite him as Kazuma Okamoto singled home one run, and then Ernie Clement lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home the second run. The Angels bullpen did yeoman’s work covering 4.1 innings without incident, with just one hit allowed over that span, but there was no hope of cracking the Jays’ pitching staff this time around.

Other Games

Cleveland Guardians (21-19) 6, Minnesota Twins (16-23) 4: The Guardians put up a four-spot in the first inning to take a commanding lead, benefitting off of an error to score their first run before a sacrifice fly brought in a second and Travis Bazzana hit his first MLB homer to double the lead to 4-0. The game stayed quiet after that for a while until the Twins started a rally, getting on the board in the sixth with a Ryan Jeffers RBI single before scoring two in the seventh on a Byron Buxton two-run homer. Cleveland got some breathing room with runs in the seventh and eighth. The Twins got back-to-back hits to start the ninth, but a double-play cut the rally short despite scoring a run, Josh Bell striking out to end it right after.

Kansas City Royals (18-21) 4, Detroit Tigers (18-21) 3: The Tigers and Royals traded a run each in the second inning, but Detroit jumped ahead with a two-run sixth inning. A leadoff walk was nearly wasted after the next two Tigers made outs, but Wenceel Pérez doubled to center to drive them in and Spencer Torkelson doubled him in right after. Kansas City tied things up in the eighth thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia, and Isbel walked it off in the ninth with a single to left.

Seattle Mariners (19-20) 12, Chicago White Sox (17-21) 8: A back-and-forth affair saw the Mariners break away late. Munataka Murakami tied Aaron Judge with his 15th home run of the season to start the scoring, but a bases-loaded hit by pitch tied the game in the second inning. Luke Raley put Seattle up with a grand slam in the third, only for Chicago to tie it back up in the bottom of the third with a bases-clearing double from Colson Montgomery doing the heavy lifting.

Julio Rodríguez got the Mariners back on top with a solo shot in the fifth, but it was the seventh inning where they started to pull away as Raley launched another homer, this time a three-run shot. The eighth saw Josh Naylor get in on the action with a three-run blast of his own, making it 12-5, but Chicago got two back in the bottom half on a single from Jarred Kelenic and an RBI double from Tristan Peters before former Yankee Randal Grichuk led off the ninth with a homer. The rest of the White Sox went down in order to end the threat, but it was topsy-turvy from the get-go.

Chicago Cubs (27-12) 7, Texas Rangers (17-21) 1: Ben Brown has been in the bullpen all of 2026 up until he started on Friday, but he made a case to get more starts in the future as he pitched four no-hit innings. Kumar Rocker’s night began with a delay as he had to go change his undershirt thanks to the white sleeves he was showing, and the Cubs made him pay for the delay striking for a run in the first inning before adding two more in the fourth on a Seiya Suzuki homer. The Rangers got their lone run in the fifth on a Justin Foscue single, but the Cubs kept going adding an RBI ground-rule double from Pete Crow-Armstrong in the sixth before Michael Busch lined a bases-clearing double that made it a laugher.

MJ Melendez was thrust into a challenging situation last month. The struggling New York Mets faced the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, amid what would become a 12-game losing streak. Seeking a spark, Melendez was plugged into the lineup and laced two doubles and notched an RBI against Shohei Ohtani. Though the Mets lost 8-2, Melendez has since been a reliable asset.

Melendez has been contributing in the heart of the order for the Mets, an unexpected development for the preseason playoff favorites. On Wednesday in Colorado, he added a triple, a walk, and a check-swing single. Keith Hernandez remarked after the lucky single, “When you’re hot, you’re hot,” on SNY.

The club lost eight more games after Melendez’s debut, but he has not been at fault. In just 16 games as DH and outfielder, the fifth-year player has blown away his career numbers, posting a 158 wRC+ and .912 OPS to lift a struggling lineup.

The question remains: can he put up numbers anywhere close to that for a sustained period? Injuries and poor offensive consistency have put the Mets in a deep hole in the standings despite an enormous payroll. Asking a reclamation project in Melendez to help carry the lineup is a tough ask, but he says he’s up for the challenge.

“It’s really cool to have that so-called pressure,” he told the media in late April. “I think that it’s something that you either love or you hate. I feel like I love that kind of thing.”

Melendez was drafted by the Royals in 2017 and ranked the No. 42 overall prospect by Baseball America upon his May 2022 debut. He was a league-average hitter as a rookie before declining the next two seasons. He spent most of 2025 in Triple-A before the Royals declined his option.

Getting another shot in the majors, Melendez has been the second luckiest hitter on the Mets so far this season; his .458 BABIP trails just Austin Slater’s .556, whos number is obviously enhanced by his mere 12 plate appearances. Melendez’s wOBA of .398 vs his xwOBA of .271 shows that somehow he keeps finding ways to produce, with the help of a lucky bounce here and there. Meanwhile, 13 of the 17 Mets who have registered at-bats this season have recorded the opposite results. The only other players overperforming their expected metrics are Ronny Mauricio and Jared Young, who are both on the injured list, and Slater in extremely limited playing time.

Melendez will likely regress at some point, but he remains a valuable depth piece for an injury-plagued team. Perhaps if Melendez comes back down to earth, the rest of the lineup will also regress to the mean. New York would gladly take some middle ground, given the deep hole they face.

Even if Melendez cannot sustain his current pace, a change of scenery and his motivation to prove himself after being let go by the Royals may help him remain a valuable and surprising contributor to the Mets roster.

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The Chicago Cubs are the hottest team in baseball, having won 10 consecutive games.

They are favored to extend their winning streak in Texas, but my Cubs vs. Rangers predictions see the home team keeping it close.

Let's dive deeper into my MLB picks for Saturday, May 9.

Who will win Cubs vs Rangers today: Rangers +1.5 (-135)

Jack Leiter has posted an xFIP of 3.44 and SIERA of 3.52, putting him in company with Joe Ryan, Landon Roupp, and Braxton Ashcraft among today's starters. Those arms have ERAs comfortably in the threes, yet Leiter sits at 5.44.

It's almost the opposite story for Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera. His ERA sits at 3.27 despite a 4.21 xERA. He has allowed plenty of hard contact and ranks in the 11th percentile in barrel rate.

With both starters showing misleading surface stats — and the Cubs riding a 10-game winning streak — there is value in backing the Texas Rangers to keep it close.

COVERS INTEL: Cabrera ranks in the 37th percentile in expected batting average allowed.

Cubs vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-105)

Leiter has allowed 20 runs over his last five starts. While I expect him to earn better results moving forward than he has thus far, it's a stretch to suggest he'll completely slow a Cubs offense that leads the league in runs per game and on base percentage. 

The Rangers are also a threat to score several runs in this game. Their offense has posted some respectable numbers beneath the surface, ranking seventh in hard hit rate, 10th in fly ball rate, and 13th in wOBA against right-handed pitching over the last month.

They should cause problems for Cabrera.

Cubs vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: Cubs -140 | Rangers +120
• Run line: Cubs -1.5 (+115) | Rangers +1.5 (-135)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-110) | Under 8.5 (-110)

Cubs vs Rangers trend

The Cubs have hit the game total Over in 20 of their last 30 games (+10.05 units, 30% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Rangers.

How to watch Cubs vs Rangers and game info

Cubs vs Rangers latest injuries

Cubs vs Rangers weather

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Don’t make too much of their recent troubles scoring runs. Or how they have a bunch of old players on their roster. Or how it feels as if you have a better chance of seeing a dinosaur at Dodger Stadium these days than a Shohei Ohtani homer.

Regardless of what happens in the regular season, the Dodgers will be the team to beat in October.

Just as they were last year. And the year before that.

You never want to make too much of a regular-season game, particularly one that’s six weeks into a 162-game schedule, but their 3-1 victory over the Braves was more than a win.

The triumph was a reminder of why the Dodgers are the two-time defending World Series champions.

Brighten the lights, raise the stakes, improve the quality of pitching, and the Dodgers will show they have a little something no other team has.

“I don’t know what it is about this team,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “When a big series comes up, we always find a way to lock in and play our game.”

And this was as big a series that could be played at this stage of the season.

The Braves came into Los Angeles tied with the Yankees and Cubs for the best record in baseball.

Their scheduled starters for the series resembled a postseason rotation, with reigning Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale on Friday, Spencer Strider on Saturday and Bryce Elder on Sunday. Strider and Elder are former All-Stars.

What unfolded in the series opener was reminiscent of many of the games the Dodgers have played in recent postseasons.

“Tonight was a typical October game in the sense of, you’re going to see really good pitching, on the margins you gotta be able to take advantage of mistakes,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You gotta prevent runs and use the arms in the ‘pen that you got. And we prevented runs tonight and got enough hits. So, yeah, similar to an October game.”

Including the result.

The Dodgers predictably didn’t have many chances against the left-handed Sale, who came into the game with a 6-1 record and 2.14 ERA. But when opportunities presented themselves, the Dodgers capitalized. And when the Braves made mistakes, the Dodgers pounced.

In the second inning, Kyle Tucker pulled a slider beneath the strike zone into the right field corner for a double that drove in Teoscar Hernandez from first base. 

The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the fifth inning when Rojas reached base and advanced to second on a throwing error by shortstop Jim Jarvis. Rojas scored on a single to right by Ohtani.

An inning later, the Dodgers extended their lead to 3-1 when Freddie Freeman punished Sale for one of his few mistakes, a down-the-middle fastball that he sent over the wall in left-center field.

“The damage all came from our left-handed hitters today,” Rojas said. 

Roberts relied on his relievers the way he often does in the postseason. With two outs in the fifth inning and runners on the corners, Roberts removed starter Emmet Sheehan and called on fireman Alex Vesia, who forced Matt Olson to fly out to left field.

“There’s still a lot of time between now and October,” Roberts said. “But I think you can see the energy, sort of how I managed the game tonight. I wanted to win.”

Roberts didn’t mess around, and his bullpen wound up covering the final 4 ⅓ innings.

Kyle Hurt pitched the sixth inning, Will Klein the seventh, Brock Stewart the eighth and Tanner Scott the ninth.

“You get a chance to beat Chris Sale,” Roberts said, “you gotta try to do everything you can.”

When reflecting on the relievers’ roles in the victory, Freeman mentioned how the bullpen was also forced to cover the final eight innings of a win in Houston on Wednesday after starter Tyler Glasnow was forced out of the game with back spasms. Glasnow was placed on the injured list Friday.

“You’re playing against the team with the best record,” Freeman said. “They’ve been playing really good baseball. We obviously put together a really quality, quality game.”

The kind of quality game that delivers results in October.

The Dodgers still know how to win a game like that, no matter how much they have looked like a diminished version of themselves over the last six weeks.

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Fading the Angels’ strikeout prone lineup worked last night, and I’m going to do it again with another "K" collector in Trey Yesavage on the mound for Toronto. 

Read on to see why with my Angels vs. Blue Jays predictions and MLB picks for Saturday, May 9. 

Angels vs Blue Jays predictions

Angels vs Blue Jays best bet: Trey Yesavage Over 5.5 strikeouts (-105)

Trey Yesavage has incredible swing-and-miss stuff, which should match up well today against a swing-happy Los Angeles Angels squad, making the Over on his 5.5 strikeout total extremely tantalizing.

L.A. struck out 11 times in Game 1 of the series, which suggests the Toronto Blue Jays have a pretty good idea of how to attack these Angels batters, who rank dead-last in strikeout-rate. 

That’s a juicy combination to pair with a pitcher like Yesavage, who throws a fastball/splitter combo with great deception. It led to immense success last postseason, and we saw it at work in his last start where he racked up six strikeouts in just four innings.

I also expect his pitch count to be higher than his two previous starts, which should allow him to go deeper into the ball game and have more opportunities to hit the Over on his strikeouts.

COVERS INTEL: The Angels own a 27.6% whiff rate, sixth-worst in the majors.

Angels vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

The sooner we accept Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as one of the best singles hitters in the game, the sooner we can start profiting from it.

He ranks fourth in singles hit this season and is 3-for-6 lifetime against Jack Kochanowicz, with all three hits being for one base.

For the final leg of the SGP, I’m taking Daulton Varsho to go Over 0.5 hits. He’s 4-for-5 against Jack Kochanowicz in his career and has recorded at least one hit in six of his last eight games. 

Angels vs Blue Jays SGP

• Trey Yesavage Over 5.5 strikeouts
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 singles
• Daulton Varsho Over 0.5 hits

Angels vs Blue Jays home run pick: Daulton Varsho (+550)

I’m only betting a half unit on this one, as Kochanowicz is a ground-ball pitcher who doesn’t give up much hard contact, surrendering just two home runs all season long. 

However, I’ll hitch my wagon to the player who’s had the most success against him throughout his career and that’d be Varsho, who owns a 1.600 OPS against him. 

Additionally, Varsho owns a .400 average and a .600 SLG against the sinker, which is Kochanowicz’ most utilized pitch. 

Angels vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Los Angeles +150 | Toronto -180
• Run line: Los Angeles +1.5 | Toronto -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Angels vs Blue Jays trend

The Blue Jays have hit the run line in five of their last six games at home (+5.55 Units / 79% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Angels vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Angels vs Blue Jays and game info

Angels vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Angels vs Blue Jays weather

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It’s another packed slate across the big leagues, which means plenty of opportunities for balls to leave the yard.

My home run prop breakdown spotlights Shea Langeliers, Gunnar Henderson, and Canadian backstop Liam Hicks.

Read more in my MLB picks for Saturday, May 9. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Shea Langeliers	+340
Gunnar Henderson	+390
Liam Hicks	+670
💲Today's HR parlay	+15230

Home run pick: Shea Langeliers (+340)

Shea Langeliers has been a power force this season for the Athletics. He's already cracked 11 home runs, which ranks seventh in the Major Leagues. The slugger has gone deep in two of his last three games as well, including a two-homer game last weekend. Tonight's matchup heavily plays in his favor against Baltimore Orioles righty Shane Baz. 

Langeliers is 4-for-10 lifetime against Baz with one bomb. Baz owns a 4.99 ERA, and three of the four homers he's allowed this year have been against right-handed hitters. With three long balls across the last week, Langeliers could very well make Baz pay for a mistake in the zone. 

• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, NBCS-CA

Home run pick: Gunnar Henderson (+390)

We'll shift to the Orioles now, with Gunnar Henderson in a good position to slug his 10th homer of the campaign as the A's send Aaron Civale to the bump. Henderson hasn't left the yard in May yet, but he's 3-for-7 lifetime against Civale with a bomb, who has also surrendered three of his four home runs to left-handed batters. 

Civale's troubles with the long ball have been on the road as well, giving up three away from Sacramento. Henderson has five homers at home, and he's swinging the bat better overall at Camden Yards. Civale is prone to mistakes at times, and Henderson's confidence should be high with him on the mound. 

• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, NBCS-CA

Home run pick: Liam Hicks (+730)

Liam Hicks has been one of the best stories in the big leagues early on. He leads the MLB in RBI with 34, and the backstop is on the verge of double-digits in homers, smacking nine. Hicks has gone deep twice in his last four contests, with five home runs at home. The Miami Marlins host the Washington Nationals. 

Zack Littell takes the hill for the Nats, and he's been horrendous. The right-hander sports an ERA over seven, and he's allowed an astounding 13 bombs in only seven appearances. Littell has given up six long balls in his previous three outings alone. Hicks is 1-for-3 lifetime versus Littell, and he's left the ballpark eight times against right-handed hurlers. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marlins.TV, Nationals.TV

Today’s HR parlay

Shea Langeliers	Bet Now +15230
Gunnar Henderson
Liam Hicks

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Fernando Tatis Jr. is a two-time Platinum Glove Award-winning right fielder, which is why his error on Friday night was inexplicable. Tatis Jr. misplayed a groundball off the bat of JJ Weatherholt with the bases loaded and it resulted in a Little League grand slam that put the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the San Diego Padres, 4-0. It was evident Tatis Jr. was trying to field the ball in an effort to make a throw toward the infield in order to limit the number of runs scored on the play. Instead, the ball rolled under his glove and continued to roll until it reached the base of the right field wall. It was not something any fan of the Padres expected to see, and it may be the first sign that his struggles at the plate are affecting his play in the field. San Diego never threatened to get back in the game and lost the second game of the series to St. Louis, 6-0.

As bad as the error was by Tatis Jr. the team performance at the plate was worse. The Padres were held to one hit over nine innings of baseball. A lineup that included Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Gavin Sheets and Tatis Jr. in the top five batters was held to a single hit, which came off the bat of Merrill in the bottom of the fourth inning. That was the only inning San Diego threatened to score. After the leadoff single, Bogaerts and Machado hit back-to-back groundouts. Sheets and Tatis Jr. walked to load the bases, but Miguel Andujar grounded out to end the inning and the St. Louis pitching shutdown the Padres for the remainder of the game.

Griffin Canning was on the receiving end of the Tatis Jr. error and was charged with six runs over 4.1 innings pitched. He allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out five. Yuki Matsui, Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio combined to work the final 4.2 innings and allowed just four hits and no walks, while keeping the Cardinals off the board.

San Diego only drew the two walks in the bottom of the fourth inning but struck out a combined 10 times while being held to one hit. The Padres will try to put the embarrassing loss behind them today in the third game of the series against the Cardinals at Petco Park at 4:15 p.m.

Padres News:

• The Padres are just like any other team in MLB and have started to incur injuries to position players. Jake Cronenworth (concussion) and Luis Campusano (fractured toe) were both placed on the injured list this week, which created opportunities for Sung-Mun Song and Rodolfo Duran.

• Jase Bowen added two more home runs to his season total with a standout performance for the El Paso Chihuahuas.

• San Diego pitching prospect Humberto Cruz pleaded guilty to transporting undocumented immigrants within the United States and will have his work visa revoked for up to 10 years.

Baseball News:

• Jacob Misiorowski had a dominant outing and helped the Milwaukee Brewers get a 6-0 win over the New York Yankees.

• The Chicago Cubs may never lose again – not really. But they did win their 10th game in a row with a 7-1 win over the Texas Rangers.

• Munetaka Murakami hit a home run in the first game of the series between the Chicago White Sox and the Seattle Mariners. He has homered in the first game of each series Chicago has played this season. However Seattle won the game, 12-8.

• Freddie Freeman hit his 100th home run as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped his team defeat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1.

• Dylan Cease is adjusting quite well with the Toronto Blue Jays and recorded 10 strikeouts in seven innings to lead his new team to a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

• The New York Mets got a strong start from Nolan McLean and were able to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings.

• Robby Snelling made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins, but his day was spoiled by the Washington Nationals who got a 3-2 win.

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The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels clash this afternoon at Rogers Centre in a game where runs should be a precious commodity.

That matchup headlines my favorite MLB picks for today in the "no run first inning" and "yes run first inning" markets.

Here are my best NRFI and YRFI bets for Saturday, May 9.

Best NRFI/YRFI bets today

Pick	Odds
/ - NRFI	-120
/ - NRFI	-111
/ - YRFI	+100

Angels at Blue Jays: NRFI (-120)

Two good arms take the hill in this matchup as Jack Kochanowicz and Trey Yesavage battle it out.

Kochanowicz hasn't allowed a run in the first inning in three straight starts, and he's only given up five earned runs during that span. He faced the Toronto Blue Jays on April 21, and gave up just one earned run. That didn't come until the sixth inning. 

As for Yesavage, he's only allowed one earned run across two starts since returning from injury, compiling an impressive 0.96 ERA.

The Los Angeles Angels have scored in the first just once in their last four contests, and the Jays also have just one run in the first across their previous four games, too. The series opener ended 2-0 for the Jays, with both runs coming in the third. 

• Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, ABTV

Cardinals at Padres: NRFI (-111)

The San Diego Padres have been underwhelming offensively this season, and it's often taken them a while to even score any runs.

They've scored just three times in the first in 27 games against right-handed starters, and Dustin May takes the bump for the St. Louis Cardinals here. While he has gotten in some trouble in the first as of late, the Padres have scored in the first just once in their last four contests. 

The Cardinals also haven't scored in the opening frame in five straight games, and Randy Vasquez has only allowed runs in the first once this season in seven starts. He typically comes out and finds a rhythm early, and Vasquez owns a 3.20 ERA overall. 

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FOX

Twins at Guardians: YRFI (+100)

The Cleveland Guardians are rolling right now offensively.

They're in the middle of a three-game winning streak, and Cleveland put up a four-spot in the first on Friday. They also scored three runs in the finale against the Royals on Thursday evening.

The Guards face Minnesota Twins righty Joe Ryan here, and he has a 4.64 ERA on the road compared to 2.60 at home.

Minny isn't scoring in the first inning very much lately. I truly like this pick for the Cleveland angle, as this entire lineup is swinging the bats extremely well.

While Ryan is typically solid, the Guardians could very well jump on him early and put some runs on the board. The likes of Jose Ramirez, Bryan Rocchio, and Steven Kwan have had success against him. 

• Time: 6:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Twins.TV, CLEGuardians.TV

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All year, the Cubs have gone by a “next man up” mantra. Thus, when Matthew Boyd went down with a knee injury this week, Ben Brown was tabbed to make the start in his place. It was Brown’s first start of the year, and his past results as a starter have been uneven.

Like just about everything else that’s happened with the Cubs this year, Brown did his “next man up” job exceptionally well. Expected to go no more than three innings, Brown instead no-hit the Rangers for four innings. Michael Busch added a bases-clearing double and Seiya Suzuki homered in a 7-1 win over the Rangers, the team’s 10th win in a row. That, combined with losses by the Braves and Yankees, leaves the Chicago Cubs waking up this morning with the best record in baseball. Also, the 2026 Cubs are in rare territory:

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, these Cubs are the fifth team in MLB history with multiple distinct winning streaks of at least 10 games before their 40th decision of a season. The 1955 Dodgers, 1941 Cardinals, 1889 St. Louis Browns and 1880 Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) also achieved the feat.

And per Elias, the Cubs are also just the sixth team with a gap of three or fewer games between a pair of winning streaks of at least 10 games. That rare feat was also pulled off by the 1906 Cubs (one game, twice), 1897 Orioles (one), 1880 White Stockings (two), 1978 Pirates (two), and 1955 Dodgers (three).

Further:

We are all witnessing history… and of the best possible kind.

Now, let’s look at how this one unfolded.

With one out in the top of the first, Michael Conforto bounced a ball into the seats at Globe Life Field for an automatic double. One out later, Ian Happ singled him in [VIDEO].

That’s where the game stayed until the fourth. In that inning, Happ led off with a walk and Seiya Suzuki smashed his seventh home run of the year [VIDEO].

That ball: Crushed! [VIDEO]

A note on Suzuki’s blast from BCB’s JohnW53:

Suzuki’s fourth-inning home run extended the Cubs’ streak to seven games with at least one homer, a season high. Going into Friday, 11 other teams had had a streak of at least seven games this season. The Yankees had homered in 14 straight games; the Mariners, in 12; and no other team in more than eight.

There were 89 streaks of at least seven games last year, including ones of seven and eight by the Cubs. Twenty-nine streaks were at least 10 games, with a high of 18 by the Giants. The Dodgers had two streaks of 14; the Royals, one.

Brown was just outstanding in his four innings of work. He threw an efficient 46 pitches (31 strikes) and allowed just one baserunner, a second-inning walk to Joc Pederson. He struck out three [VIDEO].

I’ve been critical of the effort to make Brown a starter in the past. But this year, he’s developed additional pitches and has been much more effective in a multi-inning relief role. With a slot in the rotation currently available with the injury to Boyd, perhaps Brown can fill that place. An excellent job done in this one by Brown, whose season ERA dropped to 1.82.

More on Brown’s evening from John:

Brown is just the third Cub to start a game and exit after four no-hit innings — but the second in as many years.

On Opening Day of last season, against the Dodgers at Tokyo, Shota Imanaga was lifted after walking four and striking two.

Matt Clement walked one and struck out three at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers on May 5, 2002.

That was the first such start since Monk Dubiel walked none and struck out one at home vs. the Reds on May 29, 1949. Under the hazy scoring rules back then, Dubiel was awarded the win, since the Cubs were ahead, 1-0, when he departed. They won, 10-2, as Emil Kush finished up, working five innings and allowing two runs on six hits and three walks, with two strikeouts.

Ryan Rolison relieved Brown in the fifth and walked the first two batters he faced. One out later, an RBI single by Justin Foscue made the score 3-1. At that point Javier Assad relieved Rolison. Assad’s second pitch was a wild pitch, advancing the runners, but he retired the next two Rangers to end the inning.

In the sixth, Busch drew a one-out walk and stole second. The Rangers have a reputation as an easy team to run on, so the Cubs took advantage. That was just the sixth steal of Busch’s 372-game MLB career to date.

One out later, Pete Crow-Armstrong bounced a ball into the seats, scoring Busch [VIDEO].

The Cubs blew the game open in the seventh. Nico Hoerner reached on an error, Conforto walked and Alex Bregman singled, loading the bases with nobody out. The next two Cubs hit into force plays at the plate, but Busch cleared the bases with this double to make it 7-1 [VIDEO].

Assad completed 3.2 scoreless innings in relief of Rolison, then just-activated Ethan Roberts entered the game for the ninth. He issued a two-out walk but then got Andrew McCutchen to fly to center to end the game [VIDEO].

Good pitching, the usual solid defense and timely hitting made this win very satisfying, and so, at least for this one:

Here are postgame remarks from Busch [VIDEO].

As mentioned in the clip, Busch saw 37 pitches in this game (the Rangers threw 187 pitches overall). That’s more than seven pitches per plate appearance, a sign of a really good, patient hitter. After a very slow start, Busch is batting .300/.413/.489 (27-for-90) over his last 24 games with three home runs and 21 RBI.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

So. The two 10-game winning streaks, sandwiched around a three-game losing streak, obviously make the Cubs 20-3 over that span. That’s three games better than anyone else in MLB over that time (Yankees and Rays, 17-6), and I’ve noted the other things the Cubs have done with the streaks this year, matching things that haven’t been done in decades or in some cases, in over a century. You are witnessing amazing history, something to remember forever.

The Cubs will go for 11 straight wins Saturday evening against the Rangers. Edward Cabrera will start for the Cubs and Jack Leiter goes for Texas. Game time is 6:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 9, Norfolk Tides 1 — Game 1 (7 inn.)

You wouldn’t know it by the final score, but this was a one-run game until the last inning, the seventh, when the Stripers erupted for seven runs to turn it into a blowout. Reliever Gerald Ogando got torched for five runs in just two-thirds of an inning, and infielder Willy Vasquez had to take the mound for the final out, though he gave up two runs of his own. Before that, the Wells brothers (not actually brothers) were Norfolk’s pitchers. Starter Levi Wells worked 4.2 decent innings and gave up one run, and Tyler Wells followed with 1.1 frames. Poor Tyler was saddled with the loss despite being the only Tides pitcher not to give up any earned runs. He allowed an unearned run on an error by third baseman José Barrero, which broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth.

Just like the Orioles, the Tides managed just four hits in this game. A Barrero solo homer in the fifth accounted for their only run and only extra-base hit. Norfolk didn’t have a single at-bat with runners in scoring position. Not going to win many games that way.

Box score

Norfolk Tides 3, Gwinnett Stripers 2 — Game 2 (8 inn.)

The normally seven-inning doubleheader game had to go to an extra frame before Norfolk walked it off in the bottom of the eighth. Sam Huff’s RBI single plated the free runner, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, to salvage the split of the twin bill. The Tides offense put up a better showing in the nightcap with nine hits, eight of them singles. Center fielder Jud Fabian was 1-for-3 with a walk from the leadoff spot and also threw out a runner at home.

At any given moment I can never remember whether Albert Suárez is in the minors or in the Orioles’ bullpen, but apparently the answer is the former, because he started this game for Norfolk. He gave up two runs in four innings. Andrew Magno, Ryan Long, and Enoli Paredes followed with four innings of scoreless relief. Long was particularly impressive, working 2.1 frames with no damage.

Box score

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 5, Altoona Curve (Pirates) 1

The Baysox delivered a solid performance both at the plate and on the mound, but the latter was a little better. Four Chesapeake pitchers combined to hold Altoona to just one run, starting with Christian Heberholz (four innings, one run), then two scoreless frames apiece from Daniel Lloyd and Jeisson Cabrera. Left-hander Micah Ashman saved the best for last by striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning. The 23-year-old from last year’s Charlie Morton trade has a 2.00 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 18 innings this year.

The Baysox offense produced nine hits and five walks, and might’ve run up the score a little more if they hadn’t gone 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 1o on base. Even still, they got the job done. Frederick Bencosme went 3-for-4 with two doubles, Thomas Sosa homered, Adam Retzbach drove in two, and a rehabbing Jackson Holliday walked three times. That helped make up for a rare off night for Chesapeake’s two best hitters, Ethan Anderson and Anderson De Los Santos, who were a combined 0-for-9 with six strikeouts.

Box score

High-A: Frederick Keys, 11, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 10 — 11 inn.

The Keys are the most exciting O’s affiliate right now, and boy, they did not disappoint with this barnburner of a game. After blowing a late three-run lead to send the game to extras, the Keys rallied back from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the 10th and then another two-run deficit in the bottom of the 11th, pulling off a walkoff victory on back-to-back homers by Maikol Hernández and Elis Cuevas. Frederick is now 18-12.

It was certainly a well-balanced offensive attack. Ten different Keys batters had at least one hit. Nine of them scored a run, and seven of them drove in a run. Let’s start at the top of the lineup, where leadoff man Ike Irish had a hit, a walk, and an RBI. A rehabbing Reed Trimble mashed a homer. Vance Honeycutt hit a two-run double. The #7 and #8 hitters, Colin Yeaman and Leandro Arias, each had two RBIs. Wehiwa Aloy did not start but came in off the bench and struck out in both at-bats.

The offense needed to be good, because it was not a banner day for the Frederick pitching staff — specifically, the bullpen. Starter Yeiber Cartaya did great, throwing five shutout innings with one hit and six strikeouts, but a bunch of relievers struggled. Brandon Downer lived up to his name by giving up three runs, and Jacob Cravey coughed up four runs in the 10th and 11th but was bailed out by the Keys’ bats.

Box score

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 3, Salem RidgeYaks (Red Sox) 2

This was another well-pitched victory for an Orioles affiliate on this night. Right-hander Christian Rodriguez, a 2024 tenth-round draft pick making just his second professional start, delivered a quality outing with six innings of one-run ball. He gave up eight hits, but struck out five without walking anyone.

The Shorebirds did all their scoring in the top of the second. Junior Aybar drove in the first two runs with a double and Braylon Whitaker followed with an RBI single. Three of the Shorebirds’ five hits came in that inning. They were otherwise quiet at the plate, but not on the basepaths, where they stole six bases without being caught. Whitaker and Aybar had two steals apiece.

Box score

Saturday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk: vs. Gwinnett, 6:35 PM. Starter: TBD
• Chesapeake: vs. Altoona, 6:35 PM. Starter: Evan Yates (1-1, 6.33)
• Frederick: vs. Jersey Shore, 6:00 PM. Starter: Kiefer Lord (0-0, 5.40)
• Delmarva: at Salem, 6:35 PM. Starter: Denton Biller (1-1, 5.66)

Probably not the question to be asking after two consecutive losses, but it’s fair. The Phillies are 17-21, yet still maintain decent enough playoff odds by FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. They have played better baseball of late, which has at least made them more watchable.

So, how are we feeling about their playoff chances? The division crown is probably over, though miracles can happen. The third wild card is probably the one they need to be shooting for, so how do you feel about that? Are they still a favorite to make it in your eyes?